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Chapter 10
About a half hour outside Roaring Springs, Rylan left theroads Bree was content to take in the beauty of the surrounding scenery They were heading away fro and tourist attractions behind, and this wasn’t an area she kneell
All around the out in contrast to the darker pine forests She gli waterfalls, ildflowers beginning to peek through the reentler here than those of her high-altitude ho
Rylan’s focus was on the road, and Bree found her own attention straying occasionally to his handso able to touch hi her “wise gal” in that half-flirty, half-affectionate way Missed falling asleep in his arms
As if he could sense her thoughts, his eyes flickered her way “Did you speak to your parents?”
“Yes After the incident at the gallery, they are relieved that I ah they did reht It’s for one of mom’s favorite charities, the Second Street Intercultural Center The whole Colton family will be there”
“So you have to go?” Rylan asked
“It’s sort of expected” She didn’t kno to explain it to hi back to the Roaring Springs community Some people were quick to criticize the Coltons for their wealth and elite lifestyle, but those people never sa ood causes
“We can go” He looked away fro one corner of his mouth “I have a tux”
Bree turned to look out the , picturing the scene Little Bree on the arroomed eyebrows? And in a week or then the Colton cousins and their exclusive friends found out that Rylan had been hired to look after her?
Hey, I survived being publicly coated in chocolate What’s one more humiliation?
“It’ll be a fun night” Her voice reflected her lack of enthusiasrunt, and Bree turned to look at hi”
They continued driving in silence for a few morealong for about a hundred yards, he slowed as he approached high double gates bearing the sign Mountain View Ranch The gates opened, and Rylan drove through
“Electronic signal” He pointed to a small disk on his windshield
Bree looked back to see the gates closing behind theates, or the fence?”
“Not without triggering an alarm And security cameras cover the whole perimeter” He turned to s a state-of-the-art syste to try it out on your own home?”
The track continued beyond the gates, and Bree’s eyes widened as she took in the vista They were in a vast holloith distant uess this place was aptly named”
“I never get tired of waking up and seeing these views” Rylan slowed the car and pointed as he drove “My ranch is a little under a thousand acres There’s parkland on one side, a Bureau of Land Management preservation area on another, then over there is wilderness Finally, in that direction, there’s an old ranch It’s fallen into disuse and is neglected If I could just get ed “But I can’t”
Bree was intrigued by the comment, but she didn’t have ti, and they were approaching a house that had been built on a ridge, overlooking a s with a wraparound porch Behind it, the lower slopes of the reens and broith the clear blue sky and fluffy clouds stretching endlessly beyond